Departmental Press

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change to which local newspapers his Department had a subscription between October 2008 and May 2010; on what date each such subscription started; and what the cost to the public purse was of such subscriptions.

Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has a subscription for two copies of the  Aberdeen Press and  Journal, for its Aberdeen Office. The subscription started when the Department was created in October 2008. The cost of the subscription until May 2010 was £357.60.

Broadband: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department has made an assessment of the economic value of carrying out a comprehensive mapping of Scotland's fibre infrastructure.

Michael Moore: The Digital Economy Act 2010, which came into force in June of this year, gives Ofcom a new duty to report to the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) every three years on the UK's communications infrastructure. Ofcom has consulted on the scope of the first report which is due for publication in 2011. In addition, BIS is currently consulting on changes to the EU framework directive (Directive 2002/21/EC), specifically article 12(4) which allows for national authorities, including national regulatory authorities, to request information from companies to provide a detailed picture of the infrastructure in a member state.

Political Adviser

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what criteria he set for candidates for appointment as his political adviser; what consideration he gave to advertising this post; and what the  (a) experience,  (b) salary and  (c) length of contract of such appointments are.

Michael Moore: The only appointment I have made as Secretary of State for Scotland has been to appoint a special adviser, no political adviser has been appointed. The appointment of a special adviser is a personal appointment, and, therefore, such posts are not generally advertised. Special advisers are appointed, and remunerated, in accordance with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the likely effect on the West Lothian local authority area of the implementation of proposals in the comprehensive spending review.

Michael Moore: I have had many discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including the effects of the spending review in Scotland. The spending review sets out how the Government will carry out Britain's unavoidable plan to reduce the largest deficit in peacetime history. Alongside growth, the Government have prioritised fairness, including reforming the welfare system to put it on a sustainable long term footing, while providing sustained routes out of poverty for the poorest. Scotland and its regions will stand to benefit from these priorities.

Public Sector: Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many job losses she expects there to be in the public sector in each constituency in Wales in the next five years.

David Jones: The Office for Budget Responsibility has made employment predictions for the UK based on macro economic data and no figures are available at sub-national level.
	The Secretary of State and I remain committed to preserving public sector jobs in Wales wherever possible while ensuring that the economy is rebalanced with a strong and vibrant private sector.

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the evidential basis was for his statement at the consultation meeting on his Department's business plan on reproductive, maternal and newborn health that  (a) 70,000 women a year die from unsafe abortions and  (b) where such abortions do not result in death, they can cause life long suffering; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The evidential basis for the Secretary of State's statement at the consultation meeting is the latest updated statistics published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on unsafe abortion (WHO and HRP 2010. "Unsafe Abortion in 2008: Global and Regional Levels and Trends"). This is based in part on data from the Guttmacher Institute (Singh S et al. "Abortion Worldwide: A decade of uneven progress" published in 2009). Globally in 2008, an estimated 22 million unsafe abortions took place. Nearly all of these were in developing countries, and resulted in about 70,000 deaths of women and girls.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which countries were assessed as being conflict-affected and fragile for the purpose of the information provided in the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Andrew Mitchell: The Government's assessment of conflict affected and fragile countries used in the development of the Strategic Defence and Security Review draws from the all-source Countries at Risk of Instability report produced by the Cabinet Office and departments. It is not HMG policy to make the details of the Countries at Risk of Instability report public.

Sudan: Human Rights

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the African Union on the humanitarian situation in southern Sudan.

Andrew Mitchell: I am in regular contact with the Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Jean Ping, including on the AU's role in Sudan. I was unable to meet with the AU's chief mediator on Sudan, President Mbeki, on my recent visit, since he was tied up with the talks on the referenda and completion of the comprehensive peace agreement.
	However, I spoke to a range of people involved in the AU high level process, including Vice President Taha and President Kiir, UNSG Menkerios and the US ambassador. I pressed the importance of a peaceful and credible process, to minimise the risk of conflict and humanitarian problems, as well as contingency planning for any humanitarian problems. I also spoke to the Joint AU/UN Special Representative in Darfur, Ibrahimn Gambari, about links between conflict and humanitarian issues in Darfur and Southern Sudan.

Sudan: Human Rights

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the EU on the humanitarian situation in southern Sudan.

Andrew Mitchell: During my recent visit to Sudan, I had discussions on the humanitarian situation in Sudan with the EU ambassador and senior representatives of the EU delegation in Sudan. We discussed work to maximise the chances of a peaceful and credible referendum, on the possible succession of Southern Sudan, in January 2011. But we also discussed preparations for any outbreaks of violence and humanitarian need. The Department for International Development (DFID) and the humanitarian aid arm of the European Commission (ECHO) work closely together in Sudan on humanitarian issues across the country.

Sudan: International Assistance

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's long-term strategy is to support Southern Sudan's progress towards the millennium development goals.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) is undertaking a review of all the UK's bilateral aid programmes including in Sudan, and its Southern region. Given uncertainty about the outcome of the referendum in January, and the need to retain the ability to respond to any humanitarian crisis that might occur in the early part of 2011, we aim to have a long-term strategy in place by April 2011.

Israel: Borders

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the number of roadblocks in the West Bank which have been removed by the government of Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: According to the UN's most recent annual report (published in June 2010) on "West Bank Movement and Access" the number of roadblocks in the west bank was 505. This was in comparison to 626 the previous year.
	While we welcome the improvements around the west bank, access into and within the west bank remains seriously restricted, and further easing is essential to help the Palestinian economy grow.

Japan: Whales

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Japanese counterpart on whaling; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised whaling during his visit to Japan in July and I raised the issue during my visit to Japan in September. The Japanese Government are in no doubt of the strength of feeling in this country about this issue, and that the UK considers Japan's lethal whaling for 'scientific' research wholly unnecessary.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the US Secretary of State,  (b) the French Foreign Minister,  (c) the Egyptian Foreign Minister,  (d) the Jordanian Foreign Minister and  (e) the Quartet's Middle East peace envoy on the Middle East peace process.

Alistair Burt: We are in regular contact with the US and the other key partners cited on the middle east peace process (MEPP) at both ministerial and official level.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is holding further discussions with Secretary Clinton this week. He also discussed MEPP with former French Foreign Minister Kouchner on 14 October, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Judeh on 23 October and with right hon. Tony Blair on 30 October.

Philippines: Crimes of Violence

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of assaults on nurses in the Philippines; whether he has had recent discussions with the government of the Philippines on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: We have received only one recent report of an attack on a nurse in the Philippines: the case of the rape of a nurse on 25 September in South Upi town in Maguindanao in the southern Philippines. We have not raised the specific issue of attacks on nurses with the Philippines authorities.

Sudan: Referendums

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Sudan on eligibility to vote in the referendum planned for January 2011.

Henry Bellingham: The UK has consistently underlined to the Governments of Sudan and Southern Sudan, and the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, the need to make urgent progress towards the Southern Sudan referendum. This has included the need for clear and fair eligibility criteria with accessible language which can be made public. We welcome the start of registration on 15 November.

Turkey: British Council

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will ensure that the level of funding allocated by the British Council to projects in Turkey is maintained.

Jeremy Browne: The British Council works independently of Her Majesty's Government. It is reviewing the implications of the spending review settlement and has not yet reached a decision what impact the reduction in grant in aid will have on individual operations.
	The British Council is committed to maintaining its global network and Turkey will remain a priority country within that network.

Coroner Service: Departmental Coordination

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  on what occasions he has met  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the Department of Communities and Local Government to discuss the Coroners' Service since his appointment;
	(2)  whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the likely effects on service provision by the Coroners' Service of the outcomes of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Secretary of State for Justice has not met with the Department of Communities and Local Government to discuss the Coroners' Service since his appointment.
	However, the Secretary of State has corresponded with the Communities Secretary on the likely effects of the outcomes of the spending review 2010 on the reform of the coroner service, and separately on the funding of certain inquests.

Data Protection

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to  (a) promote and  (b) enforce the Information Commissioner's Code of Conduct in relation to data protection in the last 24 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: I understand the question refers to the personal information online code of practice issued by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in July 2010.
	Discussions took place between the MoJ and the ICO about the code of practice during the ICO's public consultation, and the Government support the code's aims. However the ICO is independent of Government in the way it discharges its statutory responsibilities in respect of the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations and so the promotion and enforcement of the code are matters for the ICO.

Data Protection

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Information Commissioner's Code of Conduct in relation to data protection.

Jonathan Djanogly: I understand the question refers to the personal information online code of practice issued by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in July 2010.
	Discussions took place between the MoJ and the ICO about the code of practice during the ICO's public consultation, and the Government support the code's aims. However, the ICO is independent of Government in the way it discharges its statutory responsibilities in respect of the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations and Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. It would therefore not be appropriate for the Government to assess the effectiveness of this code of practice.

Homicide: Death Certificates

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  or what reasons  (a) an inquest into a murder and  (b) the issue of a death certificate does not take place until after the completion of criminal proceedings;
	(2)  if he will review the effects on the family of a murdered person of the  (a) holding of inquests and  (b) issue of death certificates taking place only after the conclusion of any criminal proceedings.

Jonathan Djanogly: Section 16 of the Coroners Act 1988 provides that the coroner shall adjourn an inquest, in the absence of any reason to the contrary, if a criminal charge has been brought in connection with the death. Section 16 also provides that the coroner should only resume an inquest after the completion of criminal proceedings if there is sufficient cause. This is because a criminal trial will often address the same issues as an inquest, namely who the deceased was and how, when and where he or she came by their death. Bereaved families are therefore spared the distress of attending two separate judicial proceedings.
	Section 16 states further that where a coroner has adjourned an inquest, he or she shall send a certificate to the registrar of deaths. This certificate should state, so far as has been ascertained, the particulars required for registration of the death under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. Therefore criminal proceedings should not delay the issuing of the death certificate for registration purposes.

Non-molestation Orders

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2010,  Official Report, column 235W, on non-molestation orders, when he expects his Department's programme of work accurately to record convictions of those who breach their injunctions to begin.

Crispin Blunt: Pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2010, work undertaken by the Ministry of Justice resolved a previous recording issue of offences resulting from a breach of a previously imposed court order. This enabled the inclusion of these data for the first time in the National Statistics publication 'Criminal Statistics', England and Wales 2009 on 21 October 2010.
	The number of defendants found guilty of breaching a non-molestation order at all courts in England and Wales 2009 was 2,277.

Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 888-90W, on sentencing, of what offences categories those who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence with  (a) 16 to 25,  (b) 26 to 50,  (c) 51 to 75,  (d) 76 to 100 and  (e) 101 or more previous convictions or cautions had been convicted.

Crispin Blunt: Tables 1 to 5 show figures for sentences given for indictable offences to offenders with 16 or more previous convictions or cautions, who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, by category of offence. These figures are derived from table 6.2 of 'Sentencing Statistics: England and Wales 2009' which was published on 21 October 2010.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offenders with 16 to 25 previous convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, 2007-09 
			  England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 2,193 2,270 2,471 
			 Sexual offences 62 85 63 
			 Burglary 1,701 1,689 1,557 
			 Robbery 52 74 72 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 12,089 13,710 14,042 
			 Fraud and forgery 675 681 719 
			 Criminal damage 699 615 594 
			 Drug offences 3,962 4,751 5,260 
			 Indictable motoring offences 125 117 120 
			 Other indictable offences 3,729 3,512 3,207 
			 Total 25,287 27,504 28,105 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offenders with 26 to 50 previous convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, 2007-09 
			  England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 1,196 1,241 1,363 
			 Sexual offences 30 26 27 
			 Burglary 1,028 1,153 1,116 
			 Robbery 16 30 16 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 9,641 11,659 12,976 
			 Fraud and forgery 323 355 356 
			 Criminal damage 274 283 293 
			 Drug offences 1,887 2,402 2,833 
			 Indictable motoring offences 47 47 33 
			 Other indictable offences 1,925 1,984 1,900 
			 Total 16,367 19,180 20,913 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of offenders with 51 to 75 previous convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, 2007-09 
			  England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 151 186 251 
			 Sexual offences 3 4 3 
			 Burglary 56 61 72 
			 Robbery - 1 - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 1,095 1,455 1,903 
			 Fraud and forgery 26 37 31 
			 Criminal damage 22 28 22 
			 Drug offences 90 131 199 
			 Indictable motoring offences 1 3 1 
			 Other indictable offences 161 185 178 
			 Total 1,605 2,091 2,660 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of offenders with 76 to 100 previous convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, 2007-09 
			  England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 76 81 94 
			 Sexual offences 1 - - 
			 Burglary 2 11 12 
			 Robbery - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 200 273 280 
			 Fraud and forgery 2 7 10 
			 Criminal damage 2 9 1 
			 Drug offences 5 20 19 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 46 44 39 
			 Total 334 445 455 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 5: Number of offenders with 101 or more previous convictions or cautions who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for an indictable offence by offence category, 2007-09 
			  England and Wales 
			  Number of offenders 
			   2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 51 85 93 
			 Sexual offences - 1 1 
			 Burglary - 5 1 
			 Robbery - - - 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 139 203 241 
			 Fraud and forgery 5 4 2 
			 Criminal damage 4 1 - 
			 Drug offences 5 6 9 
			 Indictable motoring offences - - - 
			 Other indictable offences 39 35 38 
			 Total 243 340 385 
		
	
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Digital Broadcasting: Hearing Impairment

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether his Department  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take steps to increase the quality of subtitling for the deaf on digital television channels;
	(2)  whether his Department is taking steps to increase the availability of subtitling for the deaf on digital television channels;
	(3)  whether his Department plans to ensure that subtitling for the deaf is available on all digital channels in the UK; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what his most recent assessment is of progress of ITV and Channel 4 towards meeting the requirement to subtitle 90 per cent. of programming by the end of 2010.

Edward Vaizey: Broadcasters already have to meet demanding targets for subtitling. The Communications Act 2003 sets minimum targets for the subtitling of programmes by licensees. For the majority of broadcasters the minimum target for subtitling is 80% to be achieved within a 10 year period, with more demanding targets set for some of the public service broadcasting services. In 2011 70 separate channels will be required to provide subtitling; accounting for just over 90% of UK audience share in 2009. In addition, any timeshifted or simulcast HD versions of these channels are also obliged to provide subtitling.
	In determining which channels are required to provide subtitling, Ofcom considers audience share (channels achieving an average audience share of all UK households over a 12 month period of 0.05% or less are excluded from the requirements) and affordability.
	On August 2010 Ofcom published its quarterly report on the provision of access services (subtitling, signing and audio description) by broadcasters for the second quarter of 2010. Ofcom's report shows that the BBC subtitled 99.8% of its programmes, and ITV and Channel 4 both exceeded their subtitling targets of 90%. Indeed, many other broadcasters also exceeded their targets, often substantially.
	If a broadcaster fails to meet its obligations over the course of a year, Ofcom requires the deficit to be made up during the following year.
	The full report can be found at:
	http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-data/tv-sector-data/tv-access-services-reports/q110/
	Ofcom has provided guidance on quality of subtitling in annex 2 of the Code on Television Access Services:
	http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/other-codes/ctas.pdf
	It is for broadcasters to take this into account when producing subtitling.
	Ofcom also requires television service providers to promote awareness of the availability of their television access services including subtitling, to potential users of the services by making available accurate and timely information to electronic programme guide (EPG) operators listing their services, and by providing similar information on their website.

Football

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 June 2010,  Official Report, column 14W, on football club governance, 
	(1)  what progress has been made on exploring better ways to involve supporters in their local clubs;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take to encourage the Football Association, Premier League and Football League to work closely together to improve the governance and regulation of the game.

Hugh Robertson: My current priority is to win the World Cup bid for 2018.
	Following the conclusion of this work, I will continue my discussions with the football authorities on the question of governance reform and supporter involvement. As outlined in the DCMS Business Plan, I plan to set out the way forward in these areas in May 2011.
	To their credit, the Premier League has already taken steps to introduce a number of new rules for this season, specifically in the areas of club ownership and financial reporting.
	We continue to monitor the effect of these changes and what further action might be necessary.

Allotments

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on restrictions on allotment holders selling surplus produce to local markets and shops.

Andrew Stunell: An allotment garden must, by definition, be 'wholly or mainly cultivated by the occupier for the production of vegetable or fruit crops for consumption by himself or his family' (Allotments Act 1922). There is no legal restriction on allotment holders selling genuine surplus produce, nor do the Government believe that there should be.

Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) empty dwelling management orders have been made and  (b) empty properties have been returned to use through an empty dwelling management order in each local authority area since the introduction of such orders.

Andrew Stunell: A list of empty dwelling management orders authorised by the Residential Property Tribunal Service in each local authority since they were introduced is set out in the following table. We do not hold information on how many of the properties have been returned to use.
	
		
			  Authority  Number of EDMOs 
			 Bolton BC 2 
			 Carlisle DC 3 
			 LB Bromley 2 
			 LB Hammersmith and Fulham 1 
			 LB Hounslow 1 
			 LB Lewisham 7 
			 New Forest DC 1 
			 Norwich City C 7 
			 Oxford City council 1 
			 Peterborough CC 2 
			 South Gloucestershire council 1 
			 South Lakeland 1 
			 South Norfolk DC 1 
			 South Oxfordshire DC 1 
			 South Tyneside BC 1 
			 Southend on Sea 3 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands DC 1 
			 Stockton on Tees council 1 
			 Swale BC 1 
			 Wolverhampton City council 1 
			 Wychavon DC 1 
			 Total 40

Fire Services: East of England

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he expects the Eastern Region Fire Control Centre to be operational.

Bob Neill: holding answer 15 November 2010
	The East of England control centre would not become operational until after mid-2011 on current timetables. It is not one of the first three control centres in which the IT system is required to be completed by the main FiReControl contractor EADS (now branded Cassidian) for that date.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Tamworth (Christopher Pincher) on 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 537W, for steps that we have taken to ensure that EADS will meet their contractual obligations.
	The FiReControl project, initiated by the last Government, is over-budget and behind schedule. As with all major Government projects, it is being reviewed to ensure value-for-money for the taxpayer. We have been clear that EADS must deliver to time, cost and quality. The new Government are committed to ensuring value for money for the taxpayer, improving resilience and stopping the forced regionalisation of the fire service.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department and its predecessors spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and its predecessor the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) were created following the machinery of government changes on 5 May 2006 and 29 May 2002, respectively.
	Since the inception of ODPM, the annual total of payments to the Institute of Fiscal Studies is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 229.25 
			 2003-04 666.25 
			 2004-95 5,493.13 
			 2005-06 0 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2007-08 0 
			 2008-09 9,921.00 
			 2009-10 31,363.00 
			 2010-11 1,670.00 
		
	
	The 2010-11 spending comprises £70 on research publications, and £1,600 on a training course that took place before the general election.
	Expenditure figures prior to 2002-03 are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Rented Housing: Lewisham

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the planned funding for decent homes announced in the comprehensive spending review will be made available to the Lewisham arms length management organisation.

Andrew Stunell: In the spending review we announced that we will invest over £2 billion of capital funding to help towards completing the Decent Homes programme. Of this, nearly £1.6 billion will be available over the next four years to help make local authority homes decent. We will be working with the Homes and Communities Agency to ensure that funding is allocated where it is needed. On 11 November we launched a consultation document jointly with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) containing our proposals for managing the allocation process.

Crown Prosecution Service

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has for the future of each Crown Prosecution Service office.

Edward Garnier: The following table records each property on the CPS estate. Planned closures have been agreed for a number of properties and these are noted on the table. Unless noted otherwise, it is planned that the majority of other sites will be retained at least until the next lease break opportunity or lease expiry.
	
		
			  Location  Property  Break date  Lease expiry date  Plan 
			 Ashton Police Station 21 January 2015 20 January 2030 No site specific plan 
			 Aylesbury Prebendal Court No break date 3 January 2013 No site specific plan 
			 Barrow in Furness Emlyn Hughes House 1 October 2018 1 October 2023 No site specific plan 
			 Birkenhead Atlantic House 30 April 2011 30 April 2016 Office vacant, break exercised and interest will be disposed 30 April 2011 
			 Birmingham Colmore Gate No break date 23 June 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Blackpool Prudential House n/a 10 November 2015 New lease has six month rolling break. Staff have moved to Preston and break will be exercised this month bringing the lease to an end in May 2011 
			 Bolton Police Station 21 January 2015 20 January 2030 No site specific plan 
			 Bournemouth Oxford House No break date 28 September 2012 No site specific plan 
			 Bradford Windsor House No break date 30 September 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Brighton Dyke Road City Gate 18 October 2012 17 October 2017 Staff to relocate from Eastbourne 
			 Bristol Froomsgate House No break date 23 June 2012 No site specific plan 
			 Burnley Burnley Wharf, No break date 25 June 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Canterbury Riding Gate House No break date 22 September 2023 No site specific plan 
			 Cardiff Capital Tower (floors 19-21) 7 December 2016 7 December 2021 No site specific plan 
			 Cardiff Capital Tower (part 13th floor) No break date 5 January 2020 No site specific plan 
			 Carlisle Stocklund House No break date 31 January 2011 Staff from Workington relocated here earlier this year. Business case for extending lease is being considered. 
			 Carmarthen Caebanc Owned Owned No site specific plan 
			 Chelmsford County House No break date 29 March 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Chester Windsor House No break date 23 June 2014 No site specific plan 
			 Chichester Citygates No break date 8 March 2013 No site specific plan 
			 Chippenham Fox Talbot House No break date 24 December 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Colwyn Bay Llys Eirias No break date 24 June 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Coventry Friars House (4th-10th Floors) No break date 24 December 2014 No site specific plan 
			 Crosby Heron House No break date 6 May 2016 No site specific plan 
			 Croydon Southern House No break date 27 September 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Cwmbran Vantage Point House 24 March 2018 24 March 2023 No site specific plan 
			 Derby St Peters House No break date 24 March 2010 Office to close in 2011 and staff to relocate to other CPS sites 
			 Droitwich Artillery House No break date 28 September 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Eastbourne St Leonards Road No break date 31 March 2011 Office to close in 2011 and staff relocate to Brighton 
			 Eastleigh Black Horse House No break date 3 November 2011 Office to close in 2011 and staff relocate to Winchester Crown court 
			 Exeter Hawkins House No break date 24 March 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Gloucester Kimbrose Way No break date 24 March 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Grimsby Heritage House No break date 31 March 2012 No site specific plan 
			 Guildford The Gateway 14 August 2018 14 August 2023 No site specific plan 
			 Harrogate The Exchange 19 June 2011 19 June 2016 No site specific plan 
			 Hull Citadel House 8 January 2014 8 January 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Huntingdon Justinian House No break date 24 December 2014 No site specific plan 
			 Ipswich St Vincent House 24 March 2013 24 March 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Lancaster Rosemary House 28 September 2015 28 September 2020 Vacant-staff have moved into Preston 
			 Leamington Spa Rossmore House No break date 29 February 2012 Staff to be relocating to Warwickshire Justice Centre December 2010 
			 Leeds Jefferson House No break date 24 March 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Leicester Princess Court No break date 21 March 2026 No site specific plan 
			 Lincoln The Regatta Suites No break date 28 May 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Liverpool Magistrates court No break date 3 April 2006 No site specific plan 
			 Liverpool Royal Liver Building 1 January 2012 31 December 2013 No site specific plan 
			 London Marlowe House No break date 25 March 2014 Site occupied by Met Police 
			 London New Kings Beam House No break date 24 December 2011 Office to close in 2011 and staff relocate to other London offices 
			 London Rose Court 28 September 2013 28 September 2018 No site specific plan 
			 London The Cooperage No break date 23 June 2014 No site specific plan 
			 Luton Sceptre House No break date 23 June 2014 No site specific plan 
			 Maidstone Priory Gate No break date 24 December 2016 No site specific plan 
			 Manchester Sunlight House No break date 5 March 2012 No site specific plan 
			 Mansfield Phoenix House 24 March 2011 22 October 2016 No site specific plan 
			 Merthyr Tydfil Cambria House No break date 24 March 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Middlesbrough Building One 31 March 2012 31 March 2022 No site specific plan 
			 Middlesbrough Building One 31 March 2017 31 March 2022 No site specific plan 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne St Ann's Quay No break date 3 June 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Newtown Powys Powys Afon House 1 April 2016 31 March 2019 No site specific plan 
			 Northampton Beaumont House No break date 1 October 2011 No site specific plan 
			 Norwich Carmelite House No break date 23 June 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Nottingham King Edward Court No break date 28-Apr-2013 No site specific plan 
			 Oldham Cromwell Court No break date 24 March 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Oxford Gemini One 14 July 2016 13 July 2021 No site specific plan 
			 Plymouth St Andrews Court 24 December 2013 24 December 2018 No site specific plan 
			 Portsmouth Crown House Owned Owned No site specific plan 
			 Preston Unicentre 24 April 2016 23 April 2021 No site specific plan 
			 Rochdale Newgate House No break date 31 March 2011 Plan to relocate to other CPS premises 
			 Sheffield Greenfield House Owned Owned No site specific plan 
			 Shrewsbury Lakeside Business Park No break date 19 April 2013 No site specific plan 
			 St Albans Queen's House No break date 30 January 2023 No site specific plan 
			 Stafford Parker Court 16 November 2016 16 November 2021 No site specific plan 
			 Stoke on Trent Etruria Valley Office Village No break date 16 May 2016 No site specific plan 
			 Swansea Princess House No break date 28 September 2011 Office to close in 2011 and staff to relocate to other local offices 
			 Victoria Artillery Row No break date 23 June 2013 Wholly sublet to commercial tenant 
			 Wakefield South Parade No break date 28 September 2015 No site specific plan 
			 Warrington Bankside Chambers 31 August 2011 (part site) 24 December 2016 No site specific plan. Break exercised on part of site. 
			 Wigan Kingscroft Court No break date 24 December 2016 Wholly sublet 
			 Wigan Police Station 21 January 2015 20 January 2030 No site specific plan 
			 Wolverhampton St Georges House No break date 17 January 2011 Office to close in 2011 and staff relocate to other local offices 
			 Workington Prosper House No break date 12 June 2014 Vacant-staff moved into Carlisle 
			 Wrexham Bromfield House 25 March 2013 24 March 2018 No site specific plan 
			 York Athena House 17 February 2015 17 February 2020 No site specific plan 
			 York United House No break date 12 December 2013 No site specific plan

Crown Prosecution Service

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General how many cases prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in each  (a) magistrates and  (b) Crown court in each local authority area were stopped or lost as a result of (i) discontinuance and (ii) attrition of CPS staff in each of the last three years.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collects data about the cases it prosecutes, but its data collection system is based on the number of defendants prosecuted rather than individual offences.
	The CPS comprises 42 areas whose boundaries are largely based on those of the police forces of England and Wales. These boundaries are not co-terminate with either local authority boundaries or with those of individual magistrates courts or Crown courts.
	The detailed data requested for individual magistrates courts and Crown courts can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However there is data available which show: (i) the total of prosecutions discontinued by the CPS; (ii) the totals of other unsuccessful outcomes; (iii) the total of all unsuccessful outcomes; and, (iv) the totals of successful outcomes for each CPS area in the last three years for both magistrates court cases and Crown court cases. The data for prosecutions dropped by the CPS includes cases that are discontinued, withdrawn or where no evidence is offered. Other unsuccessful outcomes will include all acquittals after trial. CPS data does not identify whether the reason for dropping a case was due to attrition of CPS staff. Tables containing this data have been deposited in the Library of the House.

Crown Prosecution Service: Personnel

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General how many Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff there were in each local authority area in each year since 2005; and how many cases were referred to the CPS in each local authority area in each such year.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is divided into 42 geographical areas across England and Wales. The number of staff in each Area since 2005 is shown in table 1.
	The CPS does not keep data on the basis of local authority boundaries, but on the basis of its area structure. Data is therefore only available for the 42 geographically based CPS areas.
	The number of cases referred to the CPS includes all cases charged by the police which the CPS prosecutes, and the cases referred to the CPS by the Police for a pre-charge decision. The breakdown between pre-charge decisions and cases charged by the police, in the last five years, are provided in tables 2 and 3 as follows.
	
		
			  Table 1-CPS staff 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 ENGLAND and WALES 7148 7500 7820 7705 7700 7550 
			 Avon and Somerset 173 191 198 183 188 177 
			 Bedfordshire 63 68 63 71 74 76 
			 Cambridgeshire 69 68 73 80 78 77 
			 Cheshire 109 105 108 115 115 112 
			 Cleveland 107 112 116 110 104 99 
			 Cumbria 78 77 82 79 80 79 
			 Derbyshire 104 111 115 122 123 119 
			 Devon and Cornwall 121 136 134 125 122 121 
			 Dorset 56 64 69 74 77 78 
			 Durham 79 76 77 84 92 93 
			 Dyfed-Powys 66 68 65 64 61 62 
			 Essex 154 151 163 172 185 191 
			 Gloucestershire 55 55 52 55 61 55 
			 Greater Manchester 464 485 511 502 474 457 
			 Gwent 83 81 85 97 86 84 
			 Hampshire and I.O.W 223 226 246 248 243 239 
			 Hertfordshire 97 116 128 114 120 120 
			 Humberside 101 118 123 122 118 119 
			 Kent 160 163 186 179 188 182 
			 Lancashire 238 249 256 242 252 264 
			 Leicestershire 117 130 130 128 119 120 
			 Lincoln 64 79 78 82 79 70 
			 London 1334 1336 1455 1394 1364 1319 
			 Merseyside 295 319 303 276 259 247 
			 Norfolk 93 100 100 99 95 90 
			 North Wales 72 80 83 82 84 83 
			 North Yorkshire 72 76 77 83 85 82 
			 Northamptonshire 66 73 74 82 81 77 
			 Northumbria 254 259 272 268 274 266 
			 Nottinghamshire 165 163 172 157 182 184 
			 South Wales 210 233 252 226 241 234 
			 South Yorkshire 180 192 192 183 195 195 
			 Staffordshire 138 139 149 156 152 144 
			 Suffolk 74 76 76 75 70 70 
			 Surrey 68 69 73 77 81 80 
			 Sussex 131 152 157 162 165 167 
			 Thames Valley 193 217 221 228 246 247 
			 Warwickshire 38 39 43 43 42 40 
			 West Mercia 110 140 144 149 147 148 
			 West Midlands 515 530 531 530 515 501 
			 West Yorkshire 309 322 330 322 317 324 
			 Wiltshire 50 56 58 65 66 58 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2-Pre-charge decisions 
			   2006  2007  2008  2009  2010( 1) 
			 ENGLAND and WALES 577,286 564,200 538,055 485,409 402,193 
			 Avon and Somerset 12,179 11,273 15,558 10,916 8,714 
			 Bedfordshire 5,985 5,733 6,147 5,615 4,441 
			 Cambridgeshire 7,446 6,194 6,563 5,746 5,652 
			 Cheshire 9,573 10,147 9,473 8,527 6,658 
			 Cleveland 6,392 6,498 6,927 6,045 5,085 
			 Cumbria 6,642 5,950 5,528 5,319 3,425 
			 Derbyshire 11,970 12,181 11,364 9,126 7,977 
			 Devon and Cornwall 8,681 11,088 10,302 9,367 7,152 
			 Dorset 7,825 6,137 5,981 4,631 3,935 
			 Durham 7,144 7,776 7,409 6,927 4,957 
			 Dyfed Powys 3,875 3,304 2,603 2,427 2,022 
			 Essex 13,990 15,847 14,028 12,336 10,707 
			 Gloucestershire 5,097 5,662 5,661 5,189 3,136 
			 Greater Manchester 35,713 33,146 28,817 27,742 26,746 
			 Gwent 6,480 6,531 5,921 5,609 4,675 
			 Hampshire and I.O.W 15,734 19,015 19,281 17,242 13,725 
			 Hertfordshire 8,061 8,053 6,098 5,460 5,291 
			 Humberside 8,486 8,144 8,568 7,980 6,760 
			 Kent 12,637 14,021 13,264 11,554 9,074 
			 Lancashire 24,680 23,174 22,292 21,248 17,659 
			 Leicestershire 10,061 9,992 8,118 8,047 6,152 
			 Lincolnshire 5,597 3,974 4,266 3,703 2,861 
			 London 84,990 83,786 86,406 72,262 64,208 
			 Merseyside 20,374 19,616 18,405 15,014 12,171 
			 Norfolk 7,729 7,383 7,381 7,305 5,876 
			 Northamptonshire 5,713 5,627 5,167 5,323 4,198 
			 Northumbria 20,158 18,490 15,797 12,891 9,860 
			 North Wales 9,114 7,894 7,806 7,762 5,977 
			 North Yorkshire 7,700 7,514 7,483 6,941 4,883 
			 Nottinghamshire 12,811 13,316 10,275 11,792 9,744 
			 South Wales 16,582 14,631 15,487 15,694 12,500 
			 South Yorkshire 14,264 13,668 13,136 11,607 8,776 
			 Staffordshire 13,382 11,340 10,383 9,020 6,266 
			 Suffolk 8,356 7,187 6,531 5,381 4,800 
			 Surrey 4,816 5,983 6,319 4,789 6,084 
			 Sussex 15,655 15,303 15,327 14,021 12,309 
			 Thames Valley 15,518 16,296 14,736 13,469 11,579 
			 Warwickshire 4,101 3,695 2,968 2,375 1,908 
			 West Mercia 12,078 12,256 10,758 9,057 6,918 
			 West Midlands 41,633 41,242 33,581 31,315 23,858 
			 West Yorkshire 23,933 20,839 21,454 23,675 20,433 
			 Wiltshire 4,131 4,294 4,486 4,960 3,041 
			 (1) January to October 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3-Police charged prosecutions 
			   2006  2007  2008  2009  2010( 1) 
			 ENGLAND and WALES 762,740 693,192 677,320 663,636 536,011 
			 Avon and Somerset 20,909 20,328 17,257 16,433 14,183 
			 Bedfordshire 7,723 6,607 6,185 5,944 4,375 
			 Cambridgeshire 10,095 7,970 7,652 7,516 6,040 
			 Cheshire 13,510 14,225 14,165 13,485 10,423 
			 Cleveland 8,846 8,784 9,478 9,533 7,763 
			 Cumbria 10,174 9,092 8,705 7,286 5,713 
			 Derbyshire 10,401 9,962 8,512 7,425 5,846 
			 Devon and Cornwall 18,753 16,544 16,274 15,599 12,629 
			 Dorset 9,450 7,510 6,687 6,551 5,005 
			 Durham 7,260 6,952 6,152 5,321 4,480 
			 Dyfed Powys 8,829 7,808 7,922 7,661 6,193 
			 Essex 18,339 17,508 18,126 18,863 14,832 
			 Gloucestershire 5,604 4,842 5,083 4,747 3,334 
			 Greater Manchester 51,020 42,073 42,195 36,121 28,471 
			 Gwent 11,097 10,077 7,384 6,834 4,984 
			 Hampshire and I.O.W 19,897 20,372 20,503 20,999 16,538 
			 Hertfordshire 14,337 12,536 12,547 13,467 10,512 
			 Humberside 10,527 10,838 11,089 10,791 8,885 
			 Kent 19,965 18,887 17,191 16,639 13,019 
			 Lancashire 25,445 23,470 22,111 23,397 17,292 
			 Leicestershire 13,211 10,692 10,624 9,962 7,907 
			 Lincolnshire 11,927 10,591 10,029 9,534 6,345 
			 London 99,150 87,736 98,058 108,937 102,861 
			 Merseyside 16,347 20,006 22,787 24,377 18,885 
			 Norfolk 10,553 10,212 9,383 8,553 7,424 
			 Northamptonshire 8,856 8,789 7,748 7,239 5,341 
			 Northumbria 30,626 30,659 25,119 23,318 19,275 
			 North Wales 11,537 9,519 8,918 9,206 7,817 
			 North Yorkshire 8,517 7,734 8,200 7,203 5,389 
			 Nottinghamshire 14,729 13,928 16,508 11,607 11,086 
			 South Wales 24,172 19,153 18,894 18,844 14,096 
			 South Yorkshire 18,695 17,724 17,991 16,880 13,819 
			 Staffordshire 16,180 14,826 13,446 10,986 9,327 
			 Suffolk 8,130 7,028 8,538 10,084 6,103 
			 Surrey 7,039 8,208 8,002 7,848 5,850 
			 Sussex 15,947 13,579 11,904 12,069 9,496 
			 Thames Valley 31,998 26,577 22,119 22,527 17,166 
			 Warwickshire 6,175 5,115 4,595 5,387 4,734 
			 West Mercia 18,580 17,332 15,463 14,363 10,793 
			 West Midlands 40,371 37,275 35,403 34,017 21,743 
			 West Yorkshire 37,552 32,437 30,947 28,595 25,749 
			 Wiltshire 10,267 7,687 7,426 7,488 4,288 
			 (1) January to October

Departmental Contracts

Ian Austin: To ask the Attorney-General what the monetary value is of contracts the Law Officers' Departments have, awarded to each  (a) management consultancy and  (b) IT company since 7 May 2010.

Dominic Grieve: The information is as follows:
	 Monetary value of contracts awarded by TSOL to management consultancy companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010
	TSOL have awarded no contracts to management consultancy companies since 7 May 2010.
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by TSOL to IT companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 
			  Company  Value of contract (£) 
			 Specialist computer centres 10,800 
			 Insight 5,306 
			 Kelway UK Ltd 149,538 
			 Total 165,644 
		
	
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the SFO to management consultancy companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 Corven Consulting Ltd (1)173,792 
			 PA Consulting (2)851,044 
			 Skills for Justice 6,483 
			 Total 1,031,319 
			 (1) Includes £96,680 accrued (2) Includes £213,660 accrued 
		
	
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the SFO to IT companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 COA Solutions Ltd 1,345 
			 2E2 UK Ltd 2,625 
			 Sanderson Forensics Ltd 16,263 
			 Specialist Computer Centres plc 58,925 
			 Sungard Vivista 3,142,000 
			 Total 3,221,158 
		
	
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the NFA to management consultancy companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 Magic Beans Consultancy Ltd 400 
		
	
	
		
			  Monetary value of contracts awarded by the NFA to IT companies from 7 May 2010 to 31 October 2010 
			  Company  Value of contracts (£) 
			 BrightWave Ltd 29,493 
		
	
	The CPS, AGO and HMCPSI have not awarded any contracts to management consultancy or IT companies since 7 May 2010.

Prosecutions: Convictions

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of prosecutions in each local authority area in each of the last 12 months resulted in a conviction.

Edward Garnier: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collects data on prosecutions conducted by them. Other Government Departments and local authorities also conduct prosecutions, which are not captured in the data retained by the CPS. CPS data relate to defendants and not to individual offences, and are recorded on the basis of the 42 geographically separate CPS Areas, not local authority areas.
	Tables showing the percentage of convictions for each CPS Area for each of the last twelve months in the period 2009-10, together with the total successful and unsuccessful outcomes for each CPS Area, for each month in that year, have been deposited in the Library of the House.

Animal Products: EU Law

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential market for a facility to store animal products that do not comply with EU import requirements.

James Paice: The UK has no approved stores or warehouses for the storage of animal products that do not meet the EU import conditions.
	The importation into the EU of animal products could pose a risk to animal and public health unless it is properly controlled. Each consignment of animal products must be accompanied by appropriate documentation and must enter the EU through a Border Inspection Post (BIP), where checks are carried out to ensure that import conditions have been met.
	While Council Directive 97/78 (the Veterinary Checks Directive), provides that non-conforming animal products may be stored within the EU in specially approved warehouses, subject to stringent controls, provided their ultimate destination is outside the EU. The Directive also provides that member states can refuse to allow storage of such goods in their territory on the grounds that they pose an animal or public health risk.
	The UK therefore deems these products to be a risk. Regulation 47 of the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) (England) Regulations 2006 prohibits imports of non-conforming products into a warehouse in free zones, a free warehouse or a customs warehouse in England.

Beak Trimming

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 8 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 2-4WS, on beak trimming (laying hens), who will be responsible for the cost of industry study tours to European countries where beak trimming is not carried out.

James Paice: In order to progress towards a ban on beak trimming, I have asked the industry to carry out its own study tours to European countries; for example Austria, where beak trimming is not carried out and to consider experiences from their industry colleagues. Results of these tours will be fed back to the Beak Trimming Action Group to consider, when formulating an action plan which will work toward a future ban on this procedure.

Common Land

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many recommendations she received for the registration of new town and village greens in each of the last 10 years; how many new town and village greens were registered in each such year; and what size the town and village greens were in each case.

Richard Benyon: Commons registration authorities (county councils in two-tier local authority areas) are responsible for processing and determining applications to register land as a town or village green under section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006.
	The figures in the following table are estimates derived from surveys of commons registration authorities in England, and scaled-up accordingly. The data include registrations made under section 13(b) of the Commons Registration Act 1965 (the predecessor to section 15(1) of the 2006 Act), but do not include registrations made on a voluntary application by the owner under section 15(8) of the 2006 Act. There are no national data available for 2000-02.
	
		
			  Greens registered 
			   Number 
			 2009 (to end of September) 17 
			 2008 26 
			 2007 18 
			 2006 8 
			 2005 30 
			 2004 9 
			 2003 10 
		
	
	No data are collected centrally on the size of registered greens. However, a sample study of 25 greens registered between 2001 and 2009 found that the median size was 0.3 hectares.

Common Land

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many applications for the registration of town and village greens were rejected by commons registration authorities in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: The figures in the following table are estimates derived from surveys of commons registration authorities in England, and scaled-up accordingly. The data include applications rejected under both section 15(1) of the Commons Act 2006, and section 13(b) of the Commons Registration Act 1965. There are no national data available for 2000-02.
	
		
			   Number of applications rejected 
			 2009(1) 79 
			 2008 52 
			 2007 35 
			 2006 16 
			 2005 22 
			 2004 29 
			 2003 30 
			 (1) To end of September.

Departmental Information Officers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers are employed by  (a) her Department,  (b) the Environment Agency,  (c) Natural England and  (d) each other non-departmental public body sponsored by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The information requested is set out as follows.
	
		
			  (a) DEFRA-20 press officers 
			  Desk  Number of press officers 
			 Head of News 1 
			 Food, Farming and Animal Health and Welfare 6 
			 Natural Environment, Rural Affairs, Water and Waste 6 
			 Climate, Flooding and Science 4.5 
			 Strategic Media Planning 2.5 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) The Environment Agency-26.5 press officers 
			  Region  Number of press officers 
			 Anglian 2 
			 Midlands 3 
			 Wales 2.5 
			 North East 2 
			 North West 2 
			 South West 1 
			 Southern 3 
			 Thames 4 
			 Head office 8 
		
	
	
		
			  (c) Natural England 
			   Number of press officers 
			 Natural England 5 
		
	
	
		
			  (d) Other non-departmental public bodies sponsored by DEFRA 
			   Number of press officers 
			 Marine Management Organisation 1 
			 CEFAS (1)- 
			 Forestry Commission 3 
			 British Waterways 2 
			 Gangmaster's Licensing Authority 1 
			 Rural Payments Agency (1)- 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency 1 
			 (1) Equivalent of 0.5 people's jobs

Environment Agency: Watercourses

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure that the Environment Agency has adequate resources to maintain all its watercourses.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency is responsible for maintenance of watercourses designated as 'main rivers'. Local authorities will continue to be funded by Formula Grant for their responsibilities for ordinary watercourses.
	Environment Agency resources to carry out routine maintenance will be protected as far as possible. They will continue to be targeted, on a risk based approach, towards the parts of the country where the consequences of flooding would be highest.

Livestock: Overseas Trade

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many live  (a) horses,  (b) asses,  (c) mules and  (d) hinnies have been (i) exported from and (ii) imported into the UK from (A) EU member states and (B) third countries in each of the last two years; and for what purposes these animals were exported and imported in each case.

James Paice: Details of the total number of live horses, asses, mules and hinnies exported from Great Britain and imported into the UK from EU member states and third countries for 2008 and 2009 are provided in the tables, as recorded in the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) and the Certification of Exports, Notification of Trade and Assessment of Underlying Risk (CENTAUR) databases.
	Registered horses need not be recorded in TRACES as they can move freely between EU member states accompanied by a health attestation document, which is valid for 10 days, and a valid horse passport.
	It is not possible to split these figures into individual categories of horses, asses, mules and hinnies nor ascertain for what purposes these animals were exported and imported as this data is not recorded.
	
		
			  Total number of live horses, asses, mules and hinnies exported from Great Britain 2008-09 
			   2008  2009 
			 EU 6,914 6,965 
			 Non-EU 3,233 2,673 
			 Total 10,147 9,638 
			  Source:  Certification of Exports, Notification of Trade and Assessment of Underlying Risk (CENTAUR) database 
		
	
	
		
			  Total number of live horses, asses, mules and hinnies imported into the UK 2008-09 
			   2008  2009 
			 EU 3,858 3,147 
			 Non-EU 1,529 1,341 
			 Total 5,387 4,488 
			  Source:  European Commission's Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) database

Redundancy

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many redundancies she expects there to be in each pay grade in her Department in each of the next five years; and what estimate she has made of the cost of such redundancies to her Department in each year.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA will make the reduction in headcount through natural wastage and voluntary departures wherever possible, with compulsory redundancies as a last resort. Until we know the numbers who take up voluntary departure, it will not be possible to estimate the number of compulsory redundancies. However, overall, we expect DEFRA and its arm's length bodies to have between 5,000 and 8,000 fewer jobs by 2015.

Water Supply: Industry

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will assess the merits of measures to encourage water-intensive industries to locate in areas less prone to water shortages.

Richard Benyon: Business decisions on the best place to locate will take into account many factors, including the availability of adequate water supplies.
	A water-intensive business will usually want to obtain a licence to abstract water from the environment as this is cheaper than paying for water supplied by water companies. Business can make use of the published information on water availability, via the Environment Agency's catchment abstraction management strategies. These identify the availability of water resources for new abstractions, and areas where water is unlikely to be available.
	In addition, there are mechanisms in place to encourage efficient use of water by businesses, including water-intensive industries. The water technology list identifies products, across a range of technologies, that are at the leading edge of efficient water consumption. These technologies benefit from enhanced capital allowances. Investments in such products give long-term financial benefits by reducing the amount of water that needs to be abstracted from the environment or obtained from the public water supply.
	The Water White Paper, which we intend to publish in June next year, will address the question of the management of water resources, both now and in the future.

Wild Horses

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will bring forward proposals to reduce the incidence of wild horses damaging private property.

James Paice: I do not intend to bring forward proposals to reduce the incidence of 'wild horses' damaging private property. Depending upon the circumstances and nature of the damage caused, the owners of those free roaming horses that cause damage may be liable under the Animals Act 1971. If any horses causing damage are not owned, they may be controlled in a legal and humane manner.

Departmental Travel

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much the Government Equalities Office spent on  (a) foreign travel,  (b) hotels,  (c) taxi fares and  (d) rail travel in each year since it was established.

Lynne Featherstone: The Government Equalities Office was established on 12 October 2007. The total expenditure on all travel and subsistence is detailed in the following table. Breaking down the expenditure into the categories requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Travel and subsistence  Total expenditure (£) 
			 2007-08(1) 18,880 
			 2008-09 79,891 
			 2009-10 129,542 
			 2010-11(2) 43,874 
			 (1) From 12 October 2010 (2) As at 31 October 2010

Alloy Wheels

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what data his Department collects on road accidents where defective alloy wheels were a contributing factor to the cause of that accident; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport does not collect any data on whether defective alloy wheels were a contributing factor to the cause of a road accident.
	The Department holds several datasets on road accidents. In addition to the police road casualty data (STATS19) there are several in depth studies-the 'On the Spot' study (OTS), the Co-operative Crash Injury Study (CCIS) and the Heavy Vehicle Crash Injury Study (HVCIS). None of these datasets holds any information on whether defective alloy wheels contributed to an accident.

Bus Services

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to assist competing bus companies to reach cooperative agreements to provide regular services on  (a) Wherstead Road in Ipswich constituency and  (b) other routes with an identified need.

Norman Baker: The regulatory framework for buses permits co-operative agreements between bus operators as long as certain conditions are met. We have seen good results in places where local authorities and operators work effectively in partnership to improve bus services-such as in Brighton, York and Cambridge.
	While it is the role of Government to set this framework and encourage more of this type of activity for the benefit of bus passengers in Ipswich and elsewhere it is up to local authorities and communities to make it happen. This might be a local authority making a statutory quality bus partnership scheme, as in Nottingham, or instead endorsing a qualifying agreement between two operators, as in Oxford.
	Ultimately, however, it is for commercial operators to decide whether to run services such as the route 66 bus in Ipswich, and at what frequency. If a service is not considered commercially viable, a local authority can decide it wishes to tender for and support a replacement service, or discuss with the local community alternative forms of transport provision.

Bus Services: Finance

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the likely effects on (i) bus fares and (ii) service levels of the reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant proposed in the Spending Review.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not commissioned or evaluated any specific research on the likely effects on bus fares and service levels of the reduction in Bus Service Operating Grant proposed in the spending review.
	With regard to the potential impacts of a reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant on fares and bus services I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 570W.

Bus Services: Information Services

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to amend the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 to require on-board audio and visual passenger information systems on buses.

Norman Baker: Research has been commissioned to assess the costs and benefits of installing audio visual systems on buses. The research project has brought together a cross section of stakeholders, including Guide Dogs, Royal National Institute of Blind People and Royal National Institute for Deaf People. We will take account of the results of this work in considering any changes to the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR). The project is due to report shortly.

Cycling

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of changes in the level of cycling in each cycling city and town in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: In 2005 the Department for Transport funded six cycling towns and in 2008 this funding was extended to include a further 11 cycling towns and one city until March 2011. Their remit was to increase significantly their cycling levels.
	Preliminary evaluation of the first six cycling demonstration towns (CDTs) provided evidence of early changes in the levels of cycling and physical activity in CDTs across a range of indicators, including a one percentage point increase in the estimated proportion of people cycling for 30 minutes at least three times a week, and a 27% increase in levels of cycling as measured y automatic cycle counts. Taken together, these findings (published by Cycling England in 2009) strongly suggest that cycling levels were observably increasing in the CDTs three years after the initiative began, with some evidence indicating that similar increases were not occurring in comparable areas.
	Monitoring of cycling levels in the CDTs is ongoing until at least 2011, in order to capture data on the longer-term trends in these towns.
	Independent evaluation and monitoring of the 12 new CCTs (Cycling City and Towns) is scheduled to run until 2012, with final results (including the results of a large-scale pre-and post intervention household survey) available in 2012-13. Analysis of the monitoring data will not be conducted until a suitable time series is available, to enable intervention effects to be distinguished from seasonal and other natural fluctuations in the data.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to bring forward proposals to increase charges at the Dartford-Thurrock crossing; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport intends to begin the necessary consultation on proposals for the new charging regime at the Dartford Crossing around the end of 2010.
	Increasing the charges as proposed allows future investment in improvements at the Crossing, including the implementation of free-flow charging technology, and funding of proposals for a new, additional lower Thames crossing in the longer term.

Departmental Conditions of Employment

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many civil servants in his Department have used the flexible benefits project to carry out cost comparison of products to date.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport's 'Your Reward' portal enables staff to view and purchase a range of products offered with retailer discounts. Since the scheme came into operation in November 2009, 88,151 viewings have been recorded to date. There is no information about whether the purpose was to carry out cost comparisons or to view and purchase products.

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to the public purse was of running the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee in each of the last three years.

Norman Baker: The total cost of Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, including staff costs, research costs, members' remuneration and expenses was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 294,368 
			 2008-09 375,119 
			 2009-10 486,795

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each year since its creation.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002 and information is provided from that date or the date an agency was formed, if later.
	The central Department has spent the following on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 1,275 
			 2004-05 2,743 
			 2006-07 200 
			 2009-10 575 
		
	
	The central Department has no spend on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in financial years other than those listed above.
	None of the seven Executive Agencies of the Department has any spend on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

M18: Speed Limits

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons a 50 mph temporary speed limit was in force on the M18 motorway on 1 November 2010; what guidance he provides to the Highways Agency on the imposition of temporary speed limits when work is not being carried out; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Work to replace the central reserve safety barrier is taking place in stages on the M18 between Junctions 2 and to the north of Junction 4. This is the first in a series of four schemes being undertaken between September 2010 and the end of March 2011.
	In order to undertake the work safely and with the minimum of disruption to the road user the hard shoulder is being used to maintain the full compliment of running lanes throughout the day. In order to do this a temporary 50mph speed restriction is required. This restriction remains in place on each stage until all the work has been completed and the hard shoulder reinstated.
	On 1 November works to replace the central reserve barrier had been completed. The hard shoulder, however, was coned off because works to reinstate the verge safety barriers and inspection chambers were taking place. Works were also being undertaken in the northbound verge to repair drains and install new gullies. Additionally, to the north of Junction 3 works were taking place to install both a temporary closed circuit television system in the north and southbound verges as well as speed camera cabling in the southbound verge, for the next stage of barrier works.
	On the evening of 1 November night time works to reinstate road markings, which involved a lane closure, were suspended to allow a wide load to pass safely through the works area.
	National advice on setting temporary speed limits is given in Traffic Signs Manual Chapter 8 which is developed by the Highways Agency on behalf of Department for Transport. This identifies appropriate speed limits based on the relative risk to road users. This risk is normally the same whether road workers are present or not. The Highways Agency produced additional advice in July 2007 (Chief Highways Engineer Memo 203/07) on how to apply temporary speed limits at road works using the risk based approach in Chapter 8.

Mental Health

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities contained in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being by the Government Office for Science; if he will ensure that his Department takes steps to promote well-being; if he will ensure that his Department's policy development process takes account of psychological research into subjective well-being; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The Department for Transport will consider the recommendations of the Foresight report on Mental Health Capacity and Well-Being, and what this means for the organisation.
	Our vision is for a transport system that is an engine for economic growth but one that is also greener and safer and improves quality of life in our communities. Our obligations under the Equality Act 2010 require us to consider the needs of eight vulnerable groups (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation).
	The Department for Transport is committed to using the best available evidence when developing policy. In considering the mental health and well-being of our staff, we acknowledge and support the need for the public sector to lead by example. We welcome the availability of centrally provided resources and practical tools for managers and staff on managing mental health and reasonable adjustments.
	The Department for transport recognises the benefits of investing in employee health and well-being as a means to reduce both short and long term sick absence levels, prevent ill health in the workplace, and promote healthier lifestyles.
	Work is already taking place across the Department and its seven agencies to proactively respond to local needs by promoting health and well-being. Examples of initiatives already in place include:
	Well-being strategies
	Health and well-being programmes and targeted training on stress awareness and mental health in the workplace
	Physical health screening packages which may help to reduce the risk of severe ill health in the longer term, and early diagnosis of potential health problems
	Access to dental and medical health insurance
	Learning and development support for managers and staff, including access to Workplace Option provision which provides confidential employee help and advice
	Development of a common approach to attendance management across the Department and its agencies, which includes the management of sick absence.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  whether he has made an assessment of the evidence compiled for his Department's 2008 MOT Scheme Review since his appointment; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has for the future of the MOT Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: Although I am aware of the 2008 evidence, I intend to review the MOT test scheme using the latest information available. However, the Department for Transport has no specific proposals at this stage and no preconceptions about the outcome. The aim of the review will be to strike the right balance between vehicle safety and the burden imposed on motorists by MOT test requirements.
	I expect to make an announcement about the timing and scope of the review in due course and there will be an opportunity for anyone with an interest to contribute to the debate.

Railways: Construction

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his plans are for the future of High Speed Rail 2; whether his Department's public consultation will assess  (a) the route and  (b) assistance for those whose properties are negatively affected; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 15 November 2010
	The coalition Government support a truly national high speed rail network. The Government favour an initial line from London to the west midlands, followed thereafter by lines from the west midlands to Leeds and Manchester. The forthcoming consultation will cover the Government's strategy for high speed rail-including the proposed "Y"-shaped network-and the route for the initial line.
	The Government have already consulted on and introduced the Exceptional Hardship Scheme to assist severely affected property owners who have an urgent need to sell their property. In respect of London to the west midlands I intend to consult on and introduce further arrangements to help people whose property would not be covered by the statutory blight regime, but may nevertheless suffer a significant diminution in value as a result of proximity of any new line. I also recognise that appropriate assistance will be needed when potential routes for the Leeds and Manchester sections are announced, and I will put arrangements for such assistance in place at that point.

Roads: Accidents

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will review the application of legislation relating to cycle road deaths.

Michael Penning: There is a large amount of legislation in the Traffic Acts which could be used in prosecution proceedings. Additionally the rules in The Highway Code can also be used in court proceedings.
	The investigation of road traffic collisions and the enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police. The police take very seriously all the issues arising from road traffic collisions, especially those where a life has been lost. The National Policing Improvement Agency has issued, on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers, a Road Death Investigation Manual to assist efficient and professional investigations.

Roads: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has plans for a link road between the M40 and the Heads of the Valleys Road.

Michael Penning: I understand the hon. Member's question relates to whether there are any plans for a link road between the M4 and the Heads of the Valleys Road.
	Road improvement schemes in Wales are a matter for the devolved Administration.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much in unspent credit has been recovered from section 4 payment cards in each month since the scheme was introduced.

Damian Green: The estimated amount of unspent credit recovered from the Section 4 payment card for the first year of its operation is £650,000. The figure is not collated monthly.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to allow the withdrawal of limited cash sums using the section 4 payment card to enable payment for items or services not accessible through participating retailers.

Damian Green: There are currently no plans to allow the withdrawal of cash sums using the Section 4 payment card to enable payment for items or services not accessible through participating retailers.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the UK Border Agency will bring forward proposals to allow users of the section 4 payment card to check card balances  (a) online and  (b) in-store at participating retailers.

Damian Green: There are currently no plans to allow users of the Section 4 payment card to check card balances either online or in-store at participating retailers. A free phone automatic balance checking facility is available to enable service users to manage their weekly support.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to enable individuals using section 4 payment cards to use  (a) supermarket loyalty cards and  (b) discount coupons when making purchases.

Damian Green: The ability of individuals to use Section 4 payment cards in conjunction with supermarket loyalty cards and discount coupons is a matter for the participating retailers.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reports she has received of adverse effects on asylum seekers of the operation of the section 4 payment card system.

Damian Green: The Asylum Support Partnership has produced a report entitled 'Your inflexible friend: the cost of living without cash' dated October 2010. Although this report only sampled 1% of those who use Azure cards and the vast majority responded positively, it raises a number of points regarding the operation of the Section 4 payment card for failed asylum seekers. The Government are committed to ongoing monitoring of the operation of the system, including through dialogue with voluntary sector partners, but it does not accept that the results from the survey are indicative of the experience of the majority of users.
	In October 2008, the Refugee Council produced a report entitled 'More Token Gestures: A report into the use of vouchers for asylum seekers claiming Section 4 support' dated October 2008.

Asylum: Finance

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when  (a) Ministers and  (b) UK Border Agency officials will arrange to meet representatives of the Asylum Support Partnership to discuss the operation of section 4 payment cards.

Damian Green: There are no plans for Ministers to meet with representatives of the Asylum Support Partnership to discuss the operation of Section 4 payment cards. However, members of the Asylum Support Partnership regularly attend working level meetings with UK Border Agency officials at which Section 4 payment cards and other issues are discussed.

Police: Finance

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to publish the funding allocations for each police authority for  (a) 2011-12,  (b) 2012-13,  (c) 2013-14 and  (d) 2014-15.

Theresa May: holding answer 9 November 2010
	As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice (Nick Herbert) told the House on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 600, we intend to place provisional Home Office Police Grant funding allocations for 2011-12 and indicative funding allocations for 2012-13 to 2014-15 for all police authorities before the House of Commons in early December.